Principal's Report 

From the Principal...

Welcome back to all students, families, friends and staff for the 2019 school year. It has been a very smooth start and I thank the staff for their wonderful contributions over the holidays. It is so pleasing to see the commitment of staff who gave up some of their holidays to set up rooms and make sure the year starts smoothly. I would like to welcome new families who have joined us this year and I am sure they will enjoy being a part of the OPS school community. We welcomed the Foundation children last week, who started their first day at school. The teachers have created a lovely work area for our three groups of Foundation grades. I again thank the Foundation team Laura Cecil, Jacinda Hocking and Lorraine Bell for their preparation over the past couple of weeks.

I would like to officially welcome our new staff members to the school. Mr Simon Brown is teaching in Year 6, Miss Laura Cecil in Foundation and Jack Cappichiano in Year 3. These teachers are wonderful additions to the OPS staff and I know they are looking forward to doing what they do best - making a difference in the life of a child.

At Ormond Primary School through the delivery of quality programs, children excel and recognise their potential in a safe, caring and supportive environment which encourages a positive attitude to learning. Ormond Primary recognises the importance of the partnership between children, staff, parents and the wider community.

Our Key Improvement Strategies for 2019

• To improve student achievement in English and Mathematics
• To enhance the learning growth, engagement and achievement of every student
• To increase levels of student cognitive and social engagement, through student voice and agency in their learning
• To develop students who are motivated, resilient and willing to contribute as global citizens

To achieve these goals we need to focus on curriculum planning and assessment, empowering students and building school pride and promoting student health and wellbeing.

School Uniform

Our students look amazing in their school uniform. School uniform is compulsory for all students. Please ensure that uniform is from the approved list, and all items are clearly labeled  with the child’s name, particularly hats and jumpers. Thank you so much to our many families who had their children in full school uniform for the start of our school year. 

We are a Sun Smart  school and as such children are required to wear a wide brimmed hat in Term One and again in September as the weather heats up. They are also encouraged to bring a water bottle to stay hydrated during the day. On extreme hot weather days the school will be running a Sweat day timetable where children stay inside. This will be at the discretion of the Principal.

Parent Participation at OPS

A feature of an effective school can be measured in part by parent participation and input. At OPS we welcome and encourage community participation as it supports everything we do. As the year progresses, parents will be given many opportunities to be involved in the school and I encourage all parents to offer their assistance where and when possible.

Please consider your involvement in the following:

• Class Representative Program
• Working Bees
• Parents and Friend’s Association
• School Council
• Excursions
• Sporting Events
• Classroom Programs (as negotiated with classroom teachers)
• School Events (Concerts / Theme Days / Family Nights etc.)

Child Safety

Ormond Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. This will be the primary focus of our care and decision making. Ormond Primary School is committed to providing a child safe environment where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Particular attention will be paid to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the safety of children with a disability.

Every person involved in OPS has a responsibility to understand the important and specific role he/she plays individually and collectively to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

In addition, the Statement of Commitment may describe the school’s principles for child safety. For example:

In its planning, decision-making and operations Ormond Primary will:

1. Take a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety;
2. Value and empower children to participate in decisions which affect their lives;
3. Foster a culture of openness that supports all persons to safely disclose risks of harm to children
4. Respect diversity in cultures and child rearing practices while keeping child safety paramount;
5. Provide written guidance on appropriate conduct and behaviour towards children;
6. Engage only the most suitable people to work with children and have high quality staff and volunteer supervision and professional development;
7. Ensure children know who to talk with if they are worried or are feeling unsafe, and that they are comfortable and encouraged to raise such issues;
8. Report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities;
9. Share information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the safety and wellbeing of children is at risk; and
10. Value the input of and communicate regularly with families and carers

For more information please see our Child Safe Policy

Student Learning and Effort

When we talk about student achievement, we talk about what the teacher does that is most effective and also what students can do that increases their learning. Things like maintaining effort, concentrating, giving attention to, focusing, persevering and completing the work or task. Ormond PS students and teachers use learning goals and intentions for each lesson to help students know what to do and what to focus on.

Focus is about making things clearer, doing those things like identifying similarities and differences that make learning explicit and building connections to other things students know or know how to do. Students in class can do many things to help improve their learning like taking notes while the teacher is talking, drawing an image to represent what they have learned, asking the teacher for help or feedback.

These things keep our students on track, paying attention and focused. Through their planning, our teachers help students to improve motivation and risk taking. Through their use of prompts, visual images, short video clips, humour, making things engaging and fun, making it challenging, making the learning interesting, students will be more focused. This means students will do more, write more, read more, be connected more, be able to apply more, be involved more in class, be learning more. As a staff we are aiming for at least 12 months’ learning progress in a calendar year for all of our children.

Welcome Night – Friday February 15th

Parents and Friends will be hosting the 2019 Welcome Night on Friday 15th February from 5pm-8pm. This is a great opportunity for all the new and existing families within the school community to get together for some family fun and food within the school grounds. This year there will be an Asian style food truck on site for you to purchase tasty food your family. There will also be an outdoor disco and icy poles. You are also welcome to bring you own picnic if you prefer. This event is free to enter (food is additional), but we ask that you make a booking via the following link so that we can plan for approximate attendance numbers. Go to: https://www.trybooking.com/BAGIK to show your interest. I look forward to meeting you there! Most staff will be there to mingle and introduce themselves as well!

Severe Allergies - Anaphylaxis 

We have students at our school with severe allergies to various foods, including nuts. These allergies can result in the affected students having an anaphylactic reaction, a potential life threatening situation if exposed.

The staff undergo rigorous training around first aid in these situations and they also encourage their students to wash their hands on a regular basis. They also speak with their class about the importance of not sharing food.

Parents are asked to be aware of any allergies within your child's class if bringing birthday treats etc. in to share with the class by checking with your class teacher or the front office. 

We also remind parents that any children with anaphylaxis/allergy or asthma need an updated action plan and medication provided to the school. If your child currently has medication in the sick bay, please check the expiry date and update any details for administering the medication if necessary.

Out Of School Hours Care

Welcome

The Out of School Hours staff welcome all the new children and their families to the Out of School Hours Program. If your child is due to start at the program in the coming weeks please visit the program preferably in the morning during our less busy time with your child and introduce yourself. For inquiries please don’t hesitate to call us, Ph. 9578 5826

Office Hours 7.30 to 10.30 am – 12noon to 6.00pm. Please Note: We are unable to accept fees or assist you between 3.30 to 4.00pm when children are arriving at the program for After School Care.

Before School Care, Dental Hygiene Program

Children who have breakfast, at the Before School Care Program are required to brush their teeth after breakfast. We provide the new toothbrushes at a cost of $1.50 per child; the cost will be included your Out of School Hours account. Please provide a plastic toothbrush container, to store your child’s toothbrush at the program. We supply toothpaste.

Staff News

Jordan resigned over the school holidays to undertake a new fulltime position in a day care centre.  Sadly he was unable to say goodbye to the children, he plans to visit the program in a few weeks to farewell children & parent. Sue returned to work the January school holiday program and will be working in the Before & After School Care Program until the end of next week.

April Kopitz

Out of School Hours Coordinator